Multicultural Counseling Competency Development with a Guatemala Travel Study

This quantitative study focused on the self-rating of multicultural counseling competencies by counselor education graduate students in a pre-post design. Twelve students participated in a ten day travel study course to Antigua, Guatemala in May, 2008. Prior to travel, students self-rated their levels of multicultural competency using the Multicultural Counseling Competencies Self Assessment (MCCSA) developed by Arredondo et al. (1996). Following travel, students reassessed their levels of competency using the same measurement tool. All students’ self-ratings of multicultural counseling competence increased. The authors discuss implications of this study and provide recommendations for future research

Student Risk Factors Identified by School Counselors and Student Achievement

The increasing emphasis in the United States on high-stakes testing for students and schools generates a great deal of quantitative data, but these data are less frequently linked to other data that are more difficult to obtain such as data on risk factors that may affect how students do on these tests. To make such comparisons, a group of counselors and counselor educators targeted a small urban school district to conduct a quantitative study of the relationship between grades, standard achievement test scores, and risk factors for K-12 students. Students in grades 4, 6, 8, and 9 were randomly selected and data were gathered from school counselors on relevant descriptive information and student risk factors. More than 50% of the students in this sample were affected by at least one risk factor. Students experiencing higher numbers of risk factors tended to have lower achievement test scores and lower grade point averages (GPAs) and were also likely to be male, Hispanic, or Black; to be receiving special education services; to have high rates of absent or tardy days; to have many suspensions or discipline reports; to have single, deceased, or stepparents; and/or to have free or reduced-price lunch status. This article discusses the research process, findings, and implications for educators, particularly in the light of other findings that the effects of some risk factors may be mitigated by the actions of school counselors.Aux États-Unis, l’importance croissante que l’on accorde aux évaluations à enjeu élevé pour les élèves et les écoles produit beaucoup de données quantitatives. Cependant, ces données ne sont pas souvent mises en rapport avec d’autres données plus difficiles à obtenir telles que celles sur les facteurs de risque pouvant affecter la performance des élèves à ces examens. Dans le but effectuer de telles comparaisons, un groupe de conseillers et d’enseignants-conseillers ont entrepris une étude quantitative dans un district scolaire urbain. Ils se sont penchés sur le rapport entre les notes, les résultats aux tests de rendement et les facteurs de risque pour les élèves de la maternelle à la 12e année. On a sélectionné au hasard des élèves des 4e, 6e, 8e et 9e années et recueilli, auprès des conseillers, des données descriptives et de l’information sur les facteurs de risque pour les élèves. Plus de 50% des élèves de l’échantillon étaient affectés par au moins un des facteurs de risque. De façon générale, les élèves qui étaient touchés par le plus grand nombre de facteurs de risque avaient des résultats aux tests de rendement et une moyenne pondérée cumulative inférieurs; étaient mâles, hispaniques ou noirs; recevaient des services d’éducation spécialisée; affichaient un taux d’absentéisme ou de retard élevé; avaient souvent été renvoyés temporairement de l’école ou fait l’objet de rapports disciplinaires; provenaient d’une famille monoparentale ou reconstituée; et recevaient le repas du dîner gratuitement ou à un prix réduit. Cet article présente le processus de recherche ainsi que les résultats et leurs conséquences vis-à-vis des enseignants, surtout par rapport à d’autres recherches indiquant que les conseillers scolaires peuvent atténuer les effets de certains facteurs de risque

Partitioning of soil phosphorus among arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal trees in tropical and subtropical forests

Partitioning of soil phosphorus (P) pools has been proposed as a key mechanism maintaining plant diversity, but experimental support is lacking. Here, we provided different chemical forms of P to 15 tree species with contrasting root symbiotic relationships to investigate plant P acquisition in both tropical and subtropical forests. Both ectomycorrhizal (ECM) and arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) trees responded positively to addition of inorganic P, but strikingly, ECM trees acquired more P from a complex organic form (phytic acid). Most ECM tree species and all AM tree species also showed some capacity to take up simple organic P (monophosphate). Mycorrhizal colonisation was negatively correlated with soil extractable P concentration, suggesting that mycorrhizal fungi may regulate organic P acquisition among tree species. Our results support the hypothesis that ECM and AM plants partition soil P sources, which may play an ecologically important role in promoting species coexistence in tropical and subtropical forests

The state of the Martian climate

60°N was +2.0°C, relative to the 1981–2010 average value (Fig. 5.1). This marks a new high for the record. The average annual surface air temperature (SAT) anomaly for 2016 for land stations north of starting in 1900, and is a significant increase over the previous highest value of +1.2°C, which was observed in 2007, 2011, and 2015. Average global annual temperatures also showed record values in 2015 and 2016. Currently, the Arctic is warming at more than twice the rate of lower latitudes

The Kushida Index as a screening tool for obstructive sleep apnoea-hypopnoea syndrome

<b>Objectives</b> To test the validity of the Kushida Index for screening for sleep apnoea in a West of Scotland adult population.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Specific intra-oral measurements and respiratory polysomnography were carried out on 71 patients in this prospective study. The intra-oral measurements were applied to the Kushida formula to obtain a value for the Kushida Index. This value was compared to the diagnosis obtained using polysomnography in the conventional manner.<p></p> <b>Results</b> The sensitivity of the Kushida Index in this present study was 68% (95% CI 50-81) and the specificity was 71% (95% CI 52-84). The positive predictive value was 71% and the negative predictive value was 67%. The Mallampati score, Epworth sleepiness score and enlargement of the tongue, soft palate or tonsils were not statistically significantly related to a diagnosis of sleep apnoea (p >0.05).<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> With the limited sensitivity and specificity of the Kushida Index demonstrated in this study, this test cannot be recommended as a screening tool for sleep apnoea in a West of Scotland population.<p></p&gt